Patent Application
20080020633
The present invention relates to USB port connections for motor vehicles, particularly for civil works, forest harvesting and agricultural equipment hereafter generalized as ‘heavy equipment’.
The present state of the art of motor vehicle manufacture includes often one, and frequently more than one computerized control modules. Such modules control such functions as the engine, the emissions control systems, the powertrain, on automobiles, the automatic braking system and air bag deployment to name some of the computer controlled functions representative of the state of the art. Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles may require the transfer of real-time, or stored, data from one or more modules to diagnostic equipment, or for another purpose. The data processing industry established the Universal Serial Bus, (USB) as a connectivity standard for computerized devices.
USB connector objectives include robust physical connectors, one-way connectivity, meaning that the connectors may not be physically connected incorrectly. While robustness is an objective for USB connectors, robustness is a relative term. Robust in an office environment may be fragile in the environment where heavy equipment is employed. The advantages of USB connectivity nonetheless motivate toward use of USB connections in spite what may be a fragile connection in a heavy equipment environment.
The instant invention provides a more robust USB connection while recognizing that in a heavy use environment damage to connectors may be unavoidable. Further, the instant invention provides repairable USB connectors for use in a heavy use environment.
Manufacturers understandably desire to minimize alteration to vehicle designs. Addition of USB connections to motor vehicle interiors may result in re-design of dashboards or other vehicle components. The instant invention provides a robust USB connection for installation in vehicle dashboards without requiring dashboard redesign. Although cigarette smoking may be declining, vehicle manufacturers continue to include cigarette lighters in motor vehicles. Originally a feature on higher end automobiles, lighter connections now appear on heavy equipment. While use of lighter connections for the original purpose, to ignite cigarettes by means of a heated resistance heater continues, it is now popular to add additional lighter connections located for convenient from several passenger locations in the vehicle wired for lower amperage use to power appliances such as cellular telephones, navigation and entertainment devices.
The location of the lighter connection provides a convenient location for a USB port. The complete plug for the larger class A USB connector has dimensions approximately 6 mm×16 mm. The connection portion of the connector has dimensions approximately 3 mm×12 mm. These dimensions are easily accommodated by the space required for the standard cigarette lighter connection, which has a circular barrel diameter of approximately 21 mm. The lighter connection depth of approximately 40 mm easily accommodates a typical USB class A male plug having the same approximate length. Dashboard openings to accommodate a cigarette lighter are generally ovoid in shape, preferably circular. The minor diameter, if any, of the ovoid is advantageously from 22 mm or larger. While cigarette lighters may often be located as a dashboard component, the location within a vehicle is not critical to the instant invention which may locate USB ports within cigarette lighter locations at a variety of locations within a vehicle.
There is presented a USB port connection, sized to make use of space that heretofore accommodated a female cigarette lighter power connection.
As illustrated in
As Installation of the illustrated embodiment of a USB port may be easily accomplished by inserting the barrel through an opening 13 sized to receive a cigarette lighter. The flanged 9 first end 11 is sized to hold the barrel on the outside (operator side) of a dashboard 15 or other support location.
When threaded on the mating barrel threads 3, the nut 5 fastens the barrel into the opening 13 of the dashboard 15, as shown in
The second barrel end 17 accommodates an electrical connection 19 for connecting the USB port to computer hardware on the motor vehicle. The motor vehicle hardware may connect a personal computer, or diagnostic computer, or specialized peripheral equipment to the motor vehicle functional modules, such as engine control module, emissions control module, powertrain control module, and such other control systems as are associated with vehicle operation. The USB port may transfer data from the vehicle hardware to connected peripheral devices. The USB port may also wired to serve as an antenna connection to provide wireless internet access for personal computers of vehicle occupants, or extra vehicular functions such as global positioning by means of triangulated satellite signals.
As shown in
The contact location of the USB port may be located near flange 9 resulting in the connection being situated near the surface to which the flange is drawn. Alternatively, the location of the USB port may be located within the barrel 1 depressed from 1 to 20 mm distally from the flange 9. When the USB connection is depressed, support for the male plug may be provided by the retainer 23. In a heavy equipment environment, where strong vibration may result during operation of a vehicle, support for the male USB plug will assist to prevent the vibration from loosing the plug from the connection in concert with the influence of gravity.
The connections and components described herein may be conveniently manufactured from well known thermoplastic materials such as polyolefins, polyamides, and thermoplastic composite materials such as glass filled polyolefins and glass filled polyamides by well known injection molding processes. Electrical connections within the insulative polymeric bodies of the described components may be established by placing metal contact surfaces appropriately located and secured within the mold before introduction of the thermoplastic.
